Inclusion of elastic deformation in rigid-plastic finite element analysis (Q1126514)

The aim is to incorporate into the standard rigid-plastic or viscoplastic finite element simulation a means of accounting for effects such as elasticity, as well as effects such as springback and residual stresses which cannot be addressed in a rigid-plastic analysis. This is achieved by using in tandem elastic and elastic-plastic elements together with rigid-plastic elements, in the context of the Lévy-von Mises yield criterion, in which a small amount of compressibility is incorporated. For a rigid-plastic element, the stress at the end of a time increment (in an incremental procedure) is calculated from the strain rate, and the nodal forces can then be determined. The nodal forces arising in an elastic-plastic element are computed in the usual way, also at the end of a time increment, as are the corresponding nodal forces. The nodal forces due to elastic, elastic-plastic and rigid-plastic contributions are then equilibrated, and this permits the nodal velocities to be obtained. The problem is approached in a finite strain setting, so that it is necessary to take account of rotational effects by making use of the Jaumann stress rate. The authors consider as an example the deformation of a plate by a hemispherical punch. Detailed results are presented, and where possible these are compared with results obtained by a rigid-plastic analysis. There is an improvement in the prediction of springback upon unloading, as might be expected.